Door for freight cars



July :24, 1923. 1,462,535

1... H. BANKS DOOR FOR FREIGHT CARS Filed March 3, 1922 2 She ts-Sh 1 July 24, 1923. 11,462,565

L.H.BANKS DOOR FOR FREIGHT CARS Filed March 3, 1922 l4, I 13\ I 1? 51 g? /I* i Z8 57 28 6 l l v 55/ l flkf f u .20 I I I I I I I l I 7 4 MM I w FT T F 3425 W I m 7%! I F i Z? i '/16 z I I 6641 f 41 I: s 3-5 J l 7 36 f Z3 37, Z8 3 4\ I h i zig .53 j

r 51 I Z0 14- Z1 ix zz c 11 van foz I witnesses 1 2/ @Hozncx atented July 24, 1923.

LEE H. B 615 LAC: 5*

DOOR FOB FREIGHT CS.-

Application filed March 3, 1922. Serial Ito. 540,948.

T 0 all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, LEE H. BANKS, a citizen of the United States, residing at Lacamp, in the parish of Rapides and State of Louisiana, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Doors for Freight Cars, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to freight cars and has special reference to a door for such cars.

The principal object of the invention is to provide a car door having an improved form of frame which is so arranged that the sa ging of the center of the car when loaded w the frame or rails.

Another object of the invention is to provide a frame for car doors wherein the top and bottom rails will be at all times held parallel without regard to the position of the car frame members proper.

A third object of the invention is to provide an improved form of door which arranged as to render it impossible to move one corner of the door outward and thus obtain access to the contents of the car.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a door of this description which is so mounted on the car as to render it practically impossible for the door to be torn oil by passing trains or other objects striking the side of the car.

With the above and other objects in view the invention consists in general of certain novel details of construction and combination of parts hereinafter fully described, illustrated in the accompanying drawings, and specifically claimed.

In the accompanying drawings, like characters of reference indicate like parts in the several views, and:

Figure 1 is a side elevation of a portion of the side of a car showing the door applied thereto;

Figure 2 is a section on the line 2-2 of gigui'e 3 is a section on the line 3-3 of Tn the embodiment of the invention herein shown there is disclosed a portion of a car side, as indicated at 10, having a door opening therein, a door frame is provided for the said door opening, and the same comprises a sill beam 12 and a lintel beam 1 not afiect the motion of the door along 11 and spaced vertical side posts 21', all more or less concealed by the side sheathing. The door post-21' (as shown at the broken away portion at the bottom to the right in Fig. 1) has a covering plate 34 projecting inward from the post to lap the adjacent edge of the door when it is closed against the post.

Said door frame sill and lintel beams are spaced, respectively, as indicated at 13 below and above the door opening as bounded at the top and bottom by the channel-beams 21 to allow room for like, but relatively inverted, upper and lower door track irons, 18, 18. These track irons are trough or channel-shaped for part of their cross sections and the side flange or wall of the trough adjacent the channel beams 21, increases in width toward its mid-length, that of the upper track iron extending upward and that of the lower one downward, as shown at 19, into notches or receses 14 in the door-frame lintel and sill, respectively. This widening and extension provides room in said flange of each track iron for a slot to receive a bolt 20 by which the upper and lower tracks are pivotally connected to the girder and sill channel-beams 21.

The upper track iron 18 is further supported at its ends and yieldingly maintained in position by bracket plates 22 (see Fig. 3) having their upper ends bent over the upper channel-beam or girder 21, and which then extend down the inner side of and for a space below said channel-beam across under the same and up to the underside of the track iron to which they are secured. The lower track-iron 18 is similarly supported from the channel-beam sill 21 and yieldingly maintained by bracket plates 22' similar to the upper ones, except that their inner ends are merely spaced above the channel-beam sill and do not extend down to or across the inner side thereof. These bracket plates are secured to the respective carsill and girder channel-beams and the latter are braced together to maintain a parallel relation by vertical rods 16 extended through both upper and lower flanges of both channel-beams and having threaded end-portions. Nuts 17 are threaded on said rods to clamp the upper lapping end of the upper bracket plates 22 to the upper channel-beam or girder, also to clamp the upper and lower sides of both the channel-beams, and nuts 23 and 24 clamp the parts of the bracket plates 22 and 22 which are respectively spaced below and above the channel-beam girder and sill respectively. The upper and lower bracket plates 22 and 22' are clamped to the track irons 18, 18, as at 25, by nuts on vertical rods 18 extending through the upper track irons and to and through the lower track irons and also through blocks in the channels of said track irons and which serve as stops to limit the movement of the door longitudinally of the track irons and are clamped by nuts on the ends of said rods, so that even if posts 21' are dislodged, the door may not move be 0nd the ends of said tracks.

he door frame lintel 11 and sill 12 are about twice as long as the door is wide and so,

I of course, are the'track irons 18, and rather more than half of the width of the opening bounded by said sill and lintel and the posts 21' is closed on the inner sheathing 32, see Fig. 1, and the track irons are mounted and the door slides in the space or recess between the inner and outer sheathing of the car bounded by the door frame lintel 11, sill 12, and posts 21'. The outer flange of each of the trough-shaped members is rebent upon itself as indicated at 28, and extendin over this rebent portion are the hook-s aped ends of the door hangers 30, which are secured to the door 27 by any suitable fastening means, said door being provided with reinforcing plates 31 at the point at which the hangers are secured. It is to be especiall noted that these hangers are offset inwar ly at their lower ends so that the door cannot become dislodged from its track.

Mounted on the door are guides 35 wherein slide bolts 36 having forked ends 37 as shown in Fig. 2.

At 38 is a lever which is pivoted as at 39 and on each side of the pivot point the lever is provided with an arm 40 which is connected to a respective bolt 36 by means of a link 41. This lever is furthermore provided with a handle 42 forming a hasp which is slotted to receive a staple 43 located on a uide late 44 fixed to the side of the car.- lidab e on this guide plate is a slide 45 havin a slot 46 therein 'to receive the staple. n the plate 44 and the slide 45 are provided cars 48 which register when the slide is in position over the hasp and through these ears and the staple may be positioned the wire 49 of the ordinary car seal 50 so that the plate may be locked in position and the handle 42 prevented from moving off of the same when the door is shut and locked. In order to prevent movement of the door after the same is locked, the inner arm of each of the bolts engages in a. suitable opening 51 provided in the respective guide 18.

The door is furthermore provided with the usual operating handle 52 so that an operator can grasp the same and push the door to and fro.

From the foregoing it will be seen that no matter how muchthe members 11 and 12 sag downward under the stress and strain due to a heavily loaded car, yet the track irons 18 will at all times remain par allel as these track irons are only attached to the car proper by means of the bolts 20, there being but one of these bolts at the top and one at the bottom. Thus the track irons 18 are relieved of all strain due to the load on the car and in consequence will always remain parallel.

In operating the lock to unlock the same when the door is locked, it is merely necessary to break the seal and withdraw the wire from the cars 48. Then the slide can be pushed back after the lock 55 is unlocked and removed, the handle 42 can be drawn outward and then swung around on its pivot in an upward direction. This will cause withdrawal of the bolts 36 and ermit free movement of the door. The 100 ing operation is, of course, the reverse of this.

It is to be noted that the plates 22 and 22 are'sufliciently resilient to permit restrained movement of the guides relative to the car frame. I

There has. thus been provided a simple and efficient device of the, kind described and of the character specified.

It will be obvious that many minor changes may be made in the form and construction of this invention without departing from the material principles thereof. It is not therefore desired to confine the invention to the exact form herein shown and described, but it is wished to include all such as come properl within the scope claimed.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new, is

1. In combination, a car door frame having a sill and a girder, upper and lower tracks pivoted respectively to said sill and girder, a door slidably engagin said upper and lower tracks and supporte and guided thereby, and yieldable connections between the car door frame and the said tracks.

2. In a railwa car having an entrance openin formed in a wall thereof, a door frame for said opening secured at the inner side of said car wall, said door frame embodying longitudinal upper and lower frame members and vertical posts spaced apart to either side of the transverse centers thereof and inwardly from the opposite ends of the same, upper and lower track-irons, means for pivoting said track-irons to said upper and lower longitudinal members respectively and at points intermediate their respective end portions, means connecting the opposite ends of said track-irons together whereby to maintain the same in substantially parallel relation, resilient means for connecting the apart to either side of extensive with said longitudinal opposite ends of said track-irons to the-complemental of said longitudinal members whereby to relieve the door frame of strains incident to the running movements of the car, and a door mounted for sliding movements along said track-irons.

3. In a railway car having an entrance opening formedcentrally in a side wall thereof, a door frame for said opening secured at the inner side of said car wall, said door frame embodyin longitudinal upper and lower members an vertical posts spaced the transverse center thereof and inwardly from the opposite ends of the same, upper and lower track-irons comembers, means for pivoting said track-irons to said longitudinal members and at points thereon lying in the plane of the transverse center of the car, means connecting the opposite ends of said track-irons together whereby to maintain the same in substantially parallel relation, resilient means for connecting the opposite ends of said track-irons to the complemental of said longitudinal members frame of strains incident to the running movements of the car, and a door mounted for sliding movements along said track-irons.

4. In a railway car having an entrance opening formed centrally of a side wall thereof, a door frame for said opening secured at the inner side of said car wall, said frame embodying longitudinal upper and lower frame members and vertical posts spaced apart to either side of the transverse centers thereof and inwardly from'the opposite ends of the same, upper and lower track-irons, means for pivoting said trackirons to said upper and lower longitudinal members and at points centrally thereof onl means connectin the opposite ends of said track-irons toget er whereby to maintain the Same in substantially parallel relation, means connecting the opposite end portions of said longitudinal members together, resilient hangers connecting the opposite ends of the upper of said track-irons said longitudinal members, resilient means connecting the opposite ends of the lower of said'track-irons to the connecting means extending betweensaid longitudinal members and at points thereon adjacent to the lower of the latter, and a door mounted for sliding movements along said track-irons.

In testimony whereof I'hereunto aflix signature in'presence of two Witnesses.

I L. H. BANK-S.

Witnesses: r V W, A. @mum'n,

J. B 'NAonMAN.

to the upper of 

